Knockdown steel shelving unit and corner fastening means therefor



LJ. FERDINAND ET AL 3,355,33 KNOCKDOWN STEEL SHELVING UNIT AND CORNERFASTENING MEANS THEREFOR med oct. 21, 1965 Nov. 28, 1967 mm m a N.n ElVd my F J. .m W w Mw,

Dale R Lopaka United States Patent O 3,355,033 KNCKDOWN STEEL SHELVINGUNIT AND CGRNER FASTENING MEANS THEREFOR Irwin J. Ferdinand, Glencoe,and Dale R. Lopatka, Glenview, Ill., assignors to S. A. Hirsh Mfg. Co.,Skokie,

Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,203 8Claims. (Cl. 211-148) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A corner fastening meansto secure the end of a shelf flange against an upright corner post inwhich an offset element carried by the flange a spaced distance from theilange end receives a screw through an opening therein for th-readedengagement with the corner post whereby its tightening rigidies theengagement. The engagement preferably includes a combination of guidenipples and thread reinforcements on the post for correctly locating theflange end.

The present invention relates to knockdown steel shelving of the typeembodying vertically spaced horizontally disposed rectangular shelveswhich are releasably secured at their corners to vertical corner postswith a readily and easily secured novel corner fastening means betweenbox llanges on the shelves and the walls of the posts to provide anovel, rugged interfitting relationship of excellent appearance which isof great strength with the interfitting shelves and corner posts drawnhard and rigidly against one another.

The shelves which are considered are of the type more particularlydescribed in our application, Serial No. 362,150, now U.S. Patent No.3,276,403 reference to which is hereby made, in which the shelves arelengthwise marginally reniforced by compound flanges of pluralthickness. Briefly, the shelves are longitudinally provided withvertically extending marginal full box-type llanges, three walls ofwhich are preferably further rigidilied by the provision of coextensivelongitudinally extending ribs therealong with the fourth wall of eachbox ilange offset upwardly and preferably incorporating a doublethickness of sheet metal adjacent to the top of the shelf. The cornersof the shelves are notched or cut away to expose the ends of the thusri-gidilied box flanges and the exposed endsA thereof are designed forclamping cooperaiton with the corner posts.

The corner posts themselves are of four sided box design, preferablywith a medial slot through one of the walls. Opposite walls of the postsoppose the ends of the box flanges on the shelves with rib sections diestruck therefrom which interfit with the open ends of box flanges. Thefastening means draws the rib sections hard into and within the openends of the box flanges with the walls of the corner posts bearingagainst the end edges of flanges and flan-ge ribs. With this regidityestablished between the corner posts and the longitudinal box flanges ofthe shelves, longitudinal rocking of the lassembled shelving iseliminated even with high loading limits. Also tranverse rocking of theshelving is restrained by the inherent rigidty of the shelves alongtheir short transverse dimension.

Summary ening bolt which preferably is in the form of a coarse threadedsheet metal screw having a reduced shank portion and a sphericallyshaped wall on the shank side of the head for engaging the stamping. Thethreaded end is received in a novel guided and canted manner in a holein the wall of the post between two rib sections.

Means also are provided for latching the stamping in working positionwithin the slot provided for it in the box flange so that both it and abolt threaded therein are retained in ready position on the shelf memberfor all lfuture shelf adjustments. They will not be dislodged thereafterfrom their ready position to fasten the shelf into position against thevarious corner posts even though the shelf be moved to differentlocations along the corner post.

The provision of a shelving unit and corner fastening means of thecharacter briefly outlined above being the principal object of theinvention, it is another object to provide a shelving unit wherein allof the elements associated with the fastening means yare concealed fromview without trim strips when the erection procedure has beencomplete-d.

Further objects of the invention contemplate a shelving unit wherein theprincipal constituent parts thereof are susceptible to conventionalrolling processes and require for their completion no machiningoperations to the ends that the shelving as a whole may be manufacturedat a low cost; a unit is provided which is rugged and durable Iand whichwill withstand rough usage and heavy loads; the unit may be assembledand disassembled with the -aid of only a single tool, namely a screwdriver; the assembled product possesses no sharp edges o-r corners andis devoid of abrupt protrusions; it allows for wide manufacturingtolerances; is attractive in its appearance and pleasing in its design;and is otherwise well adapted to perform the services required of it.These and further desirable features characterize the structure andproduction of embodiments of the present invention.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, not at this timeenumerated, will readily suggest themselves as the nature of theinvention is better understood.

In the accompanying one sheet of drawin-gs forming a pa-rt of thisspecification an illustrative embodiment of the invention has beenshown.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of knockdown steel shelving embodying theinvention as converted to a cabinet design;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a corner region of theshelving unit constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the horizontal planeindicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the outside face of`the left front and right rear post of FIG. l at the shelf fasteninglevel;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the right front and left rearpost;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of taken externally of the flange;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of side of the fastening clip receivedwithin the box ilange of the shelf; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the screw-to-post engagement showing thecant of the screw determined by the lead of the screw thread.

A knockdown steel shelving construction is shown in FIG. l adapted toprovide a cabinet 5 having sliding doors 7, between vertically spacedshelves 12, end panels 19 and vertical posts 10 comprising the side legsof an inverted U-shaped channel member more particularly describedlater.

the fastening clip Referring now the drawings in detail and inparticular to FG. 2 wherein one corner region of a shelving unitconstructed according to the present invention has been fragmentarilyillustrated, the unit involves in its general organization a series offour posts (FIG. 1) and two or more shelves, one of which has beenillustrated and designated in its entirety at 12 (FIG. 2). The variouscorner posts 10 and shelves 12 are -identical in the structuralcharacteristics.

The shelves 12 and corner posts 10 are rigidly secured together in theiroperative assembled relationship by means of counterpart fasteningdevices each of which includes an offset sheet metal stamping 14 and afastening bolt 16 in the form of a modified elongated sheet metal screw.The stamping 14 constitutes a reaction member for assimilating thethrust of the fastening screw which serves to clamp the shelf 12 rigidlyto the corner post 10 in a manner that will be described.

The shelf 12 is generally of rectangular configuration and it includes ahorizontal planar shelf top portion 20 having downturned transverselyextending marginal flanges 22 and downwardly and longitudinallyextending marginal flanges 24. The transverse flanges 22 are singlethickness flanges and are provided with re-entrant reverse bends (FIG.3) at their lower edges for reinforcing purposes.

The longitudinal flanges 24 are box flanges and, as best seen in FIG. 3,each flange includes inside and outside walls 28 and 30 respectively, abottom wall 32 and a dual thickness top wall 34. The walls 28 and 30 arereinforced by spaced apart reinforcing ribs 36, while the bottom wall 32is reinforced by a single central rib 38. The upper edge region of thebox flange 24 projects a slight distance above the horizontal plane ofthe planar body portion 20 of the shelf 12 by reason of a verticalconnecting flange 40 between the body portion and top wall 34, theflange 40 constituting a marginalrestraining flange to prevent supportedobjects from rolling or sliding from the upper surface of the shelf andas shown herein has a wood finish plastic sheet finishing surface 41adhered thereto. The four ribs 36 are inwardly rolled ribs while the rib38 in the bottom wall 32 is an outwardly rolled rib. The four corners ofthe shelf 12 are notched or cut-away as indicated at 42 (FIG. 3) forreception of selected regions of the corner posts therein in a mannerthat will be described, and adjacent to the posts the inner wall 28 ofthe box flange is apertured as at 18 to receive the stamping 14.

The details of the corner posts 10 are best illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5.Each post is of rolled sheet metal construction, preferably of a heaviergauge metal than that of the shelf 12 and comprises a main bodytubular-type member having parallel side walls 50 and 52, a front wall54 and a longitudinal slot 58 between two halves 60 of the rear wall. Atthe levels where shelves are to be located (FIGS. 4 and 5), the sidewalls have vertically spaced rib sections providing nipples or ribsections 62 and a dimple 64 between them having a keyhole perforation 66therethrough whose minor diameter is the root diameter of the bolt 16with the major dimension being said root diameter plus the height of thethread 17 on one side of the bolt. The nipples 62 serve a three-foldpurpose, viz. to interengage with the end of the box flange 24; to guidethe bolt 16 into proper engagement with the perforation 66; and toreinforce the side wall 50 against the strain of the screw 16. The axisof the screw in its secured position is at an acute angle fromperpendicular to the s-ide wall 50 that is equal to the lead of thescrew thread 17, and the key portion 67 of the keyhole is disposedvertically in the side wall where a thread 17a of the screw has itsgreatest angle with respect to the side wall 50 so that thediametrically opposite thread portion 17b is parallel to the face of theside wall 5) so that the screw is guided and supported in apredetermined angular canted relationship that supports and stabilizesthe box flange 24 perpendicularly to the side wall 50 when tightened inplace.

In this connection it is to be noted that the U-shaped channel membersforming the posts are identical with the key portions 67 arranged in thesame direction thereon so that when bent to the U-shape shown thekeyhole portions 67 arc up in the right front post portion and down inthe right rear portion and vice versa in the left hand channel member toassure the thread and bolt cant described that is desired for eachcorner of the shelf. This reduces to unity the inventory required forposts as well as unity of inventory for shelves, side panels, and otherelements described.

Each vertical corner post 10 is adapted to seat within a corner notch 42with the side 50 of the post opposing and bearing against the adjacentopen end or rim of the box flange 24 as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 insquared relation.

The stamping 14 is of sheet metal construction and, as shown in FIGS. 6and 7, is in the form of a stamping having a flat generally rectangularbody 74 provided with a rectangular flat flange 76 which rests againstthe inner face of the box flange wall 28 around the aperture 18 therein.The central portion of the stamping is offset into the interior of thebox flange in the form of a concave chute 78 ending in a wall 30 havingan aperture 82 that is disposed normal to the side of the chute 78. Theaperture is elongated to receive the thread 17 of the screw 16 freelytherethrough. At the shallow end of the chute the stamping is cut andoffset towards the box flange to form a finger tab S4 that snaps intoplace in the recess opening 18 with an interlocking relationship withthe end edges thereof. The other end of the chute can also be notchedand offset, but preferably is die struck to provide a groove 86 next tothe flange 78 to engage over the edge of the abutting end of theaperture 1S.

With or without a screw 16 in the opening 82 of the stamping, the offset78 is moved into the aperture 18 with an endwise movement until thefinger tab 84 passes into cooperating engagement with the edge of theaperture 18, whereupon the other end of the stamping is pressed intoplace with the cant of thread wall camming the groove 86 into engagementwith the opposite edge of the aperture 18. Thereafter the stamping maynot be removed from its installed position and the shelf 12 may behandled without danger of the stamping, and screw therein, falling fromits installed position preparatory to securing the shelf in place. Inthis connection, it is to be noted that the shank of the screw 16 isfree of threads for a distance approximately equal to the working lengthof the full size threads 17 that extends into the post 10 whereby uponloosening the screw it is free to slide back through the opening 82enough to clear the post face 50.

The proper hole 66 in the corner post 10 is then selected for thedesired shelf elevation and the fastening screw 16 is started throughthis hole to make threaded engagement with the post. Tightening of thescrew with the aid of a suitable tool such as a screwdriver, will bringthe rib sections 62 of the corner post into register and engagement withthe open end of the box flange 24, and upon final tightening of thefastening screw 16 the screw angle, the rib sections 62 and the dimple64 will orient at the correct angle without danger of slippage ortwisting and the end of the box flange 24 will be supported rigidly andsolidly against the side face 50 of the post 10 against shelf sway.

The end panel for the shelving is shown lat 19 with its front and backedges received in the slots 58. The panel is marginally notched at 90 tocoincide with the pointed ends of the screws 16 to hold the panel inplace. In assembling the panel, it is first slipped into place in theslots 58 before the screws 16 are tightened down, after which the endsof the screws will enter the notches and prevent disassembly. Althoughthe head of the yfastening screw 16 may be observed when the shelving isviewed from below and then only at the rear posts, such viewing of theshelving is seldom made when the shelving is put to use. Therefore thefastening is substantially concealed from view, yet if correction -orchange of a shelf is desired `brief inspection indicates how it is to bereadily accomplished.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention .and theadvantages of the arrangement of the parts and their elements for theobjects and results stated, it will be understood by others how variousand further modifications can be provided without departing from thespirit of the invention, the scope of which is commensurate with theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knockdown steel shelving unit, the combination of .an elongatedupright corner post of angular cross-section having a side wall providedwith vertically spaced keyhole-type perrforations therethrough withtheir elongations disposed vertically, a generally rectangularhorizontally disposed shelf having a cut away corner contacting twoadjacent side Walls of the post, a depending rectangular box flange withspaced outer and inner vertical walls extending along .a longitudinaledge of the shelf and terminally opening against said Wall, said innerwall having an aperture therethrough spaced from said opening, said sidewall having outwardly die struck rib portions above and below eachperforation received within said flange opening between the inner andouter flange walls, fastening means for drawing the opening end of theflange into rigid contact with the side wall around said rib sectionsincluding a sheet metal stamping having a tapered offset chute receivedin said aperture wit-h the taper deepening towards the post andterminating in a thrust wall having a bolt receiving aperturetherethrough in alignment with said perforation, and a bolt extendingthrough said bolt aperture at an acute angle to the side wall of thepost and threadedly received i`n the perforation in a canted mannerwherewith the thread of the bolt passes through the elongation of theperforation and approximately onehalf turn of the thread beyond theperforation rests against the other side of the post wall whereby thebolt is disposed at an angle which with the thrust wall of the chutemaintains said ange square to the side wall of the post.

2. In a knockdown steel shelving unit, the combination of a U-shapedsupport defining two upright co-rner posts of angular cross-section,each having a side wall provided with vertically spaced keyhole-typeper-forations therethrough at equal heights in said posts with theirelongations disposed vertically upwardly in one post .and downward inthe other post, a generally rectangular horizontally disposed shelf cutaway at the corners to engage two adjacent side walls of the posts andhaving depending rectangular box flanges each with spaced outer andinner vertical walls extending along opposite longitudinal edges thereofand terminally opening against said side wall of the two portsrespectively, the inner vertical walls each having an aperturetherethrough spaced from the respective openings, said side wall havingdie struck rib portions above and below each perforation received withinthe respective flange openings between the inner and outer flange Walls,fastening means for drawing the end of each flange into rigid contactwith the side wall around said rib portions .against relative lateraldisplacement including a sheet metal stamping having a flanged taperedoffset chute in the center received in each perforation with the taperdeepening towards the post and terminating in a thrust wall having abolt receiving aperture therethrough in alignment with the respectiveperforation, a bolt extending through each bolt aperture at an acuteangle to the side wall of the post and at an obtuse angle with respectto. each ot-her and threadedly received in the respective perforationsin a canted manner wherewithhthe thread of the bolt passes through theelongation of the perforation and approximately one-half turn o-f thethread beyond the perforation rests against the other side of the postwall whereby the bolt is disposed at an angle which with the thrust wallof the chute maintains the flanges square to the side wall of the postin rigid anti-end sway relationship.

3. In a knockdown steel shelving unit, the combination of an elongatedupright cross sectionally rectangular corner post having a side wallprovided with vertically spaced perforations therethrough, a generallyrectangular horizontally disposed shelf cut away at t-he corners toengage two adjacent side ywalls of the posts and having a dependingrectangular box flange with spaced outer and inner vertical wallsextending along a longitudinal edge thereof and terminally openingagainst said side wall, said inner Wall having an aperture therethroughspaced from said opening, said side Wall having outwardly die struck ribsections above and below each perforation received within said flangeopening between the inner and outer flange walls, fastening means fordrawing the open end of the flange into rigid contact with the side wallaround said rib sections including a sheet metal stamping having aborder flange engaging the face of the inner wall and a tapered offsetchute in the center thereof received in said aperture with the taperdeepening towards the post .and terminating in a thrust wall having abolt receiving aperture therethrough that is in alignment with saidperforation, and a bolt extending through said bolt aperture at an angleto the side Iwall of the post and threadedly received in the perforationwith a half turn of the thread beyond the perforation resting againstthe other side of the post wall whereby the bolt with the thrust wall ofthe chute maintains the flange square to the side wall of the post.

4. The combination called for in claim 3 wherein said bolt has a reducedshank portion between the head and its threaded end portion for freelongitudinal retraction of' the bolt in said bolt aperture to clearcontact with said side wall and confine unto the threaded engagement itsorientation in the Afastening relationship.

5. In a knockdown steel shelving unit, the combination of an elongatedupright corner post rectangular in cross section having a wall provided-with vertically spaced perforations therethrough, outwardly die struckrib sections above and below each perforation and a generallyrectangular horizontally disposed shelf having a depending rectangularbox flange with spaced outer and inner vertical walls extending along :alongitudinal edge thereof .and terminally opening against said wall withthe inner wall having an aperture therethrough spaced from said opening,said shelf and depending flanges being cut away at a corner region toreceive the corner post therein and the rib sections within said flangeopening between the inner and outer flange walls, fastening means fordrawing the end of the flange into rigid contact with the side wallaround said rib sections including a sheet metal stamping having atapered offset chute received in said aperture with the taper deepeningtowards the post and termin-ating in a thrust wall having a boltreceiving aperture therethrough in alignment with said perforation, saidstamping having oppositely extending convolutions on it engaging theedges of said aperture to support the stamping in said aperture againstinadvertent removal, a bolt extending through said bolt aperture at anangle to the side wall of the post and threadedly received in theperforation in a canted manner Wherewith the thread of the bolt passingthrough the perforation has a half turn beyond the perforation thatrests against the other side of the post wall with a thrust on thethrust wall of the chute 4by the head of the bolt that maintains theflange square to the side wall of the post, said bolt having a reducedshank portion between the head and threaded end portion for `freelongitudinal retraction of the bolt in said bolt laperture to clearcontact with said side wall when not in its fastening relationship.

6. In a kn-ockdown steel shelving unit, the combination of a U-shapedsupport defining two upright corner posts having facing walls defining alongitudinal medial slot and coplanar side walls provided withvertically spaced keyhole-type perforations therethrough at equalheights in said posts with their elongations disposed vertically up-Wardly in one post and downward in the other post, a panel receivededgewise in said slot and having edge notches at a level coinciding withperforations in the side wall, a generally rectangular horizontallydisposed shelf having depending rectangular box flanges each with spacedouter and inner vertical walls extending along opposite longitudinaledges thereof and cut away at the corner regions to terminally contactsaid panel and receive the corner posts against the open ends of theflanges, the inner vertical walls of the anges each having an aperturetherethrough spaced from the respective opening, `said side wall of thepost having die struck rib portions above and below each perforationreceived within the respective flange openings between the inner andouter flange walls, fastening means for drawing the end of each angeinto rigid contact with the side wall around said rib portions againstrelative lateral displacement including a sheet metal stamping having aflanged tapered offset chute in the center received in each perforationwith the taper deepening towards the post and terminating in a thrustwall having a bolt receiving aperture therethrough in alignment with oneof said perforations, a bolt extending through each bolt aperture atacute angles with respect to the side wall of the post and ange andthreadedly received in the respective perforations in a canted mannerwherewith the thread of the bolt passes through the elongation of theperforation and approximately one-half turn of the thread beyond theperforation rests against the other side of the post wall with the endof the bolt engaging in one of said notches whereby the bolt is disposedat an angle which with the thrust wall of the chute maintains the angessquare to the side wall of the post in rigid anti-end sway relationshipand the panel in place as well as exposing the head of the screwinwardly of the ange for axial align- 'ment with ya screw driver bitduring assembly and dismantling operations.

7. The combination called for in claim `6 in which said bolt has areduced shank portion -between the head and threaded portion for freelongitudinal retraction of the bolt through said bolt aperture to clearsaid notch and relinquish contact with said side wall.

8. The combination called for in claim 6 in which said sheet metalstamping includes a border flange engaging the face of the inner wall ofthe ange around said aperture and said stamping has oppositely extendingelements engaging the edges of said aperture to readily receive andsupport the stamping in said aperture against inadvertent removal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,939,589 5/1960 Handler et al108-144 3,187,693 6/1965 Hamilton et al. 10S-153 3,276,403 10/1966Ferdinand et al 108104 3,281,104 lil/1966 Hamilton 248-188 ROY D.FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examinez'.

3. IN A KNOCKDOWN STEEL SHELVING UNIT, THE COMBINATION OF AN ELONGATEDUPRIGHT CROSS SECTIONALLY RECTANGULAR CORNER POST HAVING A SIDE WALLPROVIDED WITH VERTICALLY SPACED PERFORATIONS THERETHROUGH, A GENERALLYRECTANGULAR HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED SHELF CUT AWAY AT THE CORNERS TOENGAGE TWO ADJACENT SIDE WALLS OF THE POSTS AND HAVING A DEPENDINGRECTANGULAR BOX FLANGE WITH SPACED OUTER AND INNER VERTICAL WALLSEXTENDING ALONG A LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF AND TERMINALLY OPENINGAGAINST SAID SIDE WALL, SAID INNER WALL HAVING AN APERTURE THERETHROUGHSPACED FROM SAID OPENING, SAID SIDE WALL HAVING OUTWARDLY DIE STRUCK RIBSECTIONS ABOVE AND BELOW EACH PERFORATION RECEIVED WITHIN SAID FLANGEOPENING BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER FLANGE WALLS, FASTENING MEANS FORDRAWING THE OPEN END OF THE FLANGE INTO RIGID CONTACT WITH THE SIDE WALLAROUND SAID RIB